I grew up in a small town.
My grandfather took my brother and me for rides
on the back of his riding lawn mower on Sunday afternoons.
We visited his friends in town.
On the day I learned to ride a two-wheel bike,
I rode circles around the block passing our neighbor’s house.
I wanted to Jeffrey Lauderdale to know the training wheels were off.
I never knew people bought blackberries in the grocery store.
I thought people picked them in empty lots.
And after schools were integrated, I had two close friends who remained true to me.
I saw what beliefs did to established friendships. To friends my dad had since he was a boy.
School integration became a wedge in the small town.
I learned that beliefs can be divisive. Long lived relationships can dissolve.
a string of days 